The present invention relates to miniature electrical connectors having a molded pin protector and, more particularly, to an improved method of forming a pin protector and attaching the pin protector to the molded housing of the electrical connector to protect conductive pins mounted within the molded housing of that connector.
Miniaturization of electrical connectors has become more important in the design of electrical circuitry due to the increased miniaturization brought about by solid state electronics such as integrated circuits and hybrid circuits. As these components are reduced in size, the demand for rugged, miniaturized electrical connectors has increased.
Prior art miniature electrical connectors mount conductive pins which, in turn, are placed within apertures in printed circuit boards and electrically secured in the apertures by flow soldering, for example. The conductive pins may be molded into a molded housing with the ends opposite the connection to the printed circuit board extending from the housing for electrical connection with a mating connector either in line or at a right angle to the first-mentioned connector. The mating connector typically mounts conductive sockets which receive the conductive pins and, in turn, is connected to a printed circuit board, a wire cable, wire harness or similar conductive device. Due to the miniaturization of the connector and its conductive pins, it is desirable to protect the pins against bending or other mechanical deformation.
The utilization of a planar pin protector which extends parallel to the axis of the conductive pins is known in the prior art. The present invention was conceived after an attempt was made to bond the pin protector to the sides of the molded housing. Due to miniaturization, the area between the protector and housing was limited. The adhesive failed under pull tests designed to test the bond between the protector and housing. A second attempted solution used countersunk holes which had been used with success where miniaturization did not limit the available area. The second attempted solution also failed the pull test. The limited surface area between the pin protector and the molded housing (0.080 inches wide by 2.0 inches long) greatly contributed to the failures.